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White paper: A call to obstetricians caring about perinatal outcome

February 2014

Over the past few decades, there have been unprecedented increases in healthcare expenditures and rates of caesarean deliveries. Those charged with leadership in healthcare policy and delivery should be aware of the contribution of increasing numbers of caesarean deliveries to the overall cost of healthcare. To halt and reverse this alarming trend, the addition of fetal ECG ST analysis (the Stan method) to traditional cardiotocography for fetal surveillance in labor can contribute in lowering healthcare costs without jeopardizing the health of newborns.

This paper summarizes a M.Sc. Thesis on the Stan technology and analyzes actual clinical outcomes at four European hospitals. It shows how the Stan method can contribute to improved healthcare and reduction in healthcare costs in hospitals that are committed to using this method. Clinical outcomes in this paper, analyzed over a five-year period, were obtained by interviewing the leading obstetricians at these hospitals and by reviewing their publications. Essential to achieving the benefits of the Stan method were implementation of structured training programs and attainment of a high rate of Stan usage. The four investigated clinics that are committed to the Stan method have on average achieved:

A 40 percent reduction in emergency C-sections or an 18 percent reduction in overall C-sections.

A 52 percent reduction in fetal scalp blood samples.

A 69 percent reduction in neonatal metabolic acidosis; two hospitals having almost eliminated the condition (over 90 percent decrease to 0,06 percent prevalence).

These reductions were all achieved without increasing the rate of operative vaginal deliveries.

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